.::DICEMBRE 2003::.

Born on April 29th, 1964 in Naples, Italy, Federico Castelluccio came to the United States with his family in 1968. When they settled in Paterson, New Jersey, a parallel universe began for him at age three and a half. The little boy conversed only in Italian at home, but mastered the new American language at school and on the streets.

His father, a musician who worked in a textile and dye factory, would bring home pieces of canvas for little Federico to paint on. His mother, who channeled her flair for design and color into her cooking and home decor, would encourage and critique her son’s work. Not surprisingly, Castelluccio developed into a serious artist. After graduating from Passaic County Tech in Wayne, he won a four-year scholarship to the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where he graduated in 1986, earning a BFA in painting and media arts.

"I studied early Italian and Dutch Renaissance painting," he says, "and my techniques are derived from that era, though I use contemporary figures in my work."

Just prior to winning his scholarship, Castelluccio completed a painting for veteran actor George Burns. Burns admired the portrait so much, he introduced the teenager to his colleagues from PBS and ABC, as well as to television network executives, all of whom agreed that here was a talented individual. Thus Federico found himself once again on a parallel track: while a college student, he was also working as a graphics illustrator.

Meanwhile, his heart kept burning to be a lifelong entertainer like George Burns.

"I felt that I was at a certain plateau with my artwork, and I just moved into acting at that point," Castelluccio explains.

Jumping track right after commencement, in 1986 Federico began studying acting with such esteemed teachers as Donald Buka, Charles Laughton, Molly McCarthy, and April Shawhan. After talking his way into a small role as an extra in the 1988 movie "Crocodile Dundee II," he went on to do theater in New York and New Jersey. To hone his craft as a performer, Castelluccio began doing showcase plays, summer stock, off-off Broadway, and Shakespeare festivals.

As a member of several small repertory companies -- Eclectic Theatre Company, for instance, and Flock Theatre Company -- he tackled the classics as well as contemporary plays, including Arthur Miller's stormy drama about Italian immigrants "A View from the Bridge" and Shakespeare's delightful romp "Twelfth Night." While playing the part of Murk in John Patrick Shanley's "Savage in Limbo," Federico was noticed by agents at Barry Haft Brown in NYC and began freelancing immediately with them and with West Coast agents, including Dulci Eisen & Association and Ro Diamond at SDB in Los Angeles. While doing plays, Castelluccio then found himself venturing into movies, exploring everything from student films and shorts to independent features. Gradually moving to television soap operas, he appeared on "As the World Turns" and "The Guiding Light."

It was his girlfriend, stand-up comedian Stephanie Norwood, who spotted the "Sopranos" casting notice in the publication Backstage.

"She said, 'You'd be perfect for this,'" Castelluccio remembers. "I wound up getting called in for a New York boss. But I read the breakdown, and I knew I wasn't right for it. I auditioned, they put me on tape, but I never heard anything back. And when I saw the man they chose, that actor was absolutely perfect."

Eight months later, though, Castelluccio got another call -- this time for the role of the brutal Neapolitan enforcer Furio Giunta, who showed up in the second season in the fourth episode, during which the Sopranos traveled to Naples to clinch a business deal. Tony persuaded his sexy female Italian counterpart to give him her best man -- Furio -- on loan.

"When I first auditioned, it was for a scene that took place here in America. I had no idea that they were going to Italy until after I was hired," Castelluccio says.

Speaking Italian was one of the role's key requirements.

"It not only had to be Italian, it had to be the vernacular of Naples, my hometown vernacular," laughs Castelluccio, who knew [from having "religiously watched" the series first season] that Tony Soprano's family hailed from Avellino, which is right outside Naples. "Yes, I have to thank my parents for wanting us to retain our language. Though we spoke English outside, we only speak Italian in the house to this day."

He admits that Furio is a small part, though his brutish character has a strong following with female fans who adore his steely, blue-eyed gaze and long dark ponytail. With that rugged physique, Furio looks like he could demolish any dude in one blow. Not to mention his chilling way with a bat.

This irony may be unparalleled: an Americanized Italian-born actor (and now an American citizen) who speaks perfect English -- and yet who has mastered a sterling Italian accent. In fact, his Neapolitan dialect seemed so authentic that actress Edie Falco, who plays Carmela Soprano on the show, was very confused when she first heard him speak impeccable American English off-camera.

"She had thought I really was from Italy," he recalls, still tickled at the joke. "I’m a very good observer and mimic. I even drive my girlfriend Stephanie crazy, because I do impressions of the crazy little things she does."

For all that, Castelluccio's warm, affectionate nature didn't prevent him from nailing down his sadistic character.

"Furio's a very dedicated soldier. He's got a sense of humor about things, but he knows when to draw the line," Castelluccio points out. "He definitely is not happy that he has a woman boss [back in Italy], so he's very intrigued by how things are run in America. He's taken a liking to Tony Soprano."

In one memorable scene, Furio had to wreak havoc in a whorehouse whose owners were shortchanging the Sopranos on their cut of the business. After attacking several people -- including the owner and his wife -- with a baseball bat and a metal pipe, Furio casually shot the husband in the kneecap, then punched the wife, and spat on her for good measure.

How can this soft-spoken artist be so convincingly savage on screen?

"For the most part, I draw on my imagination," Castelluccio explains. "I also use experiences I went through as a young kid in Paterson. I wasn't cantankerous. I didn't start fights. I just kind of ended them before they started. But in our neighborhood in Paterson, you had to know how to fight."

He laughs. "I can't escape my upbringing. Can you believe I was an altar boy -- and now I’m shooting off someone’s kneecap!?"

That duality in his nature can be seen in his still life compositions with their emphasis on rugged Italian workmen or serene Madonnas. Clearly, spiritual strength fascinates him as much as muscular might and physical tenacity. On canvas, his oil portraits conjure up a Renaissance mood through a combination of glazes and alla prima technique, along with their rich patina of color -- elements that emphasize his respect for the dignity and strength of ordinary people: an Italian mason with rolled kerchief for a cap and a cathedral [like those he’s repaired] in the background. Or a white-smocked butcher, forced to sell his family-owned business, standing against a factory wall in which Castelluccio etched the ghost of a steer in the cracked facade. He painted the portraits in his home studio, where he surrounds himself with serious art. There are 2,000-year-old Roman busts and 17th-century paintings, pieces from Egypt and Italy.

"To know that you can actually have [museum-quality art]," he says, "and be inspired by it in your very own studio is amazing."

He has exhibited his paintings in several NYC galleries over the years, including the Yoshi, Silverstein, and Ambassador Galleries. Dealers typically fetch from $15,000 to $20,000 per painting. Whoopi Goldberg owns a Castelluccio self-portrait and Donald Trump and Paul Hogan also own pieces of his work. Additionally, Castelluccio's paintings are in private and public collections in the U.S., South America, and Europe and he continues to allocate his time between both passions. Last year, TV Guide commissioned him to paint various Soprano portraits. Due to his hectic schedule of filming, promoting the show, and auditioning for future acting jobs, he had to work on them in the wee hours of the morning -- the only time he could spare.

"Basically, I live on four hours of sleep," he says, perhaps accustomed to being on a parallel track. A dynamic actor and a sought after artist: one could say his life is a masterpiece.

IDEA DICEMBRE 2003